Core barrel



Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATS CHARLES H. BENCKENSTEIN, OF VINTON, LOUISIANA.

CORE BARREL.

Application filed October 12, 1925. Serial No. 62,100.

The apparatus topbe described herein constitutes an improved core barrel or sand trap, and the material feature of the invention resides in the provision of means whereby pumping may continue during the time the core or sample of sand is being taken, thereby eliminating numerous disadvantages of the core barrels or sand traps previously known.

lt is well known, of course, that in the drilling of wells it is necessary from time to time to take a sample of the formation in which the drill is located. For this purpose a variety of core ,barrels or sand traps have been used; but in the operation of such it has been necessary to discontinue pumping while the core or sample was being taken. The taking of samples of the formation while the pumps are not running is subject to numerous disadvantages, a few of which `will be mentioned below.

The ordinary core barrel or sand trap is merely a shallow tube with cutters on the lower end thereof. Thisvis attached to the drill stem and rundown to the bottom of the well. The operator then drills into the formation with the core barrel the distance he wishes to take a core or sample. During the drilling with the core barrel the pumps are not running as the object is to allow some of the formation to `become packed in the barrel. In thus drilling with the pumps K oil' the sand often becomes burned. And again if the sand that the core is being taken of contains a great deal of gas the well may blow out. Another trouble that occurs is that in drilling with the pum s off the drill stem including the core barrel ecomes stuck; the walls of the well not holding up properly. Other troubles can occur, but the three I have mentioned are the most frequent and the most serious. The present valve mechanism is to be used in connection with the core barrel or sand trap. whereby pumping is permitted during the time the core or sample is being taken and thus eliminating the disadvantages of the core barrels or sand traps now in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a valve mechanism which consists of few parts extremely simple in construction thereb reducing to a minimum the possibiity of t e apparatus getting out of order.

The construction and advantages thereof willbe fully understood by those skilled in the art from the following description when 2; whichbody is provided with ports 3 communicating with the 'interior ofthe valve body and with the well. Screw threadedly mounted on the lower end of the valve body 1s a cap 4 having a shoulder 5. A tubular member 6 is screw threadedly mounted in the ycap and is provided with a collar( cooperating witlrthe shoulder 5 of said cap..y

This `tubular member is also provided lwith a valve seat 8 at its upper end and has a passage 9 leading from the valve seat through the entire extent of the tubular member. A bushing 10 is screw threadedly or otherwise attached to the lower end of the tubular member and screw threadedly attached to the bushing is the ordinary core barrel 11 having the cutting teeth 12 at its lower end.

A valve 13 is slidably mounted in the valve body and has its lower end tapered to cooperate with the valve seat 8. The valve wall is provided with ports 14 normally permitting communication betweenthe interior of the valve and the interior of the core barrel through the passage 9. The upper end of the valve is provided with a. collar 15 normally resting on the shoulder 16 of the valve body; it being normally held inthis position by means of a coil spring 17 compressed between the shoulder 15 and the ring 18.

A packing ring, indicated b numeral 19, is mounted in the interior of te valve body below the ports 3 and is forced into packing' contact with the valve wall` by means of a screw threaded ring 20.

The operation of the device is as follows:

'\Vhen the device is run into the hole theV parts are in the position as indicated in Figure 1. During this operation the pumps are running and the water flows through the valve stem thence through the valve body into the valve, thence through the orts 14 of the valve to the passage 9 and t ence to the core barrel. After the device has been lowered the pumping is continued to clean ont the well. lVlien the well has been cleaned and the sample or core is to be taken the drill stem and valve body are rotated, thereby moving the cap 4 downwardly on the tubular member 6 to the position indicated in Figure 2. The upper end of the tubular member G and its valve seat 8 thus move upwardly in the valve body and after a short movement the valve seat engages the .valve 13 and thus cuts oil' the flow of water from the interior ot the valve to the passagev 9. As the tubular member moves further upward in the valve body it will raise the valve and bring the ports 14 ot' the valve into communication with the ports 3 of the valve body, thereby permitting the water to flow from the interior of the valve body to the well through the ports 141 and 3.

It is thus seen that the pumps are continually running; that when the well is being cleaned the water will flow directly through the valve body and the valve to the core barrel; and that when the drill stem is rotated the valve will be automatically closed, thereby shutting oil' the iow of water to the core barrel, and the ports 14 will be automatically brought into communication With the orts 3 thereby permitting the free fiow el) the liquid from the interior of the valve body to the well. As, hereinbefore mentioned, by permitting continuous pumping, the burning of the sample beine taken is revented; blow outs are prevented; and tie hole is kept walled up so as to prevent the drill stem or core barrel from becoming stuck. And it will be noted that the device is of such extreme simplicity that there are no parts which would get out of order in the ordinary operation of the apparatus.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described what I now believe to bethe best embodiment of the invention, bilt I do not wish to be understood thereby as limiting myself orthe scope of the invention, as many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention; all such I aim to include in the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sand trap, a conduit communicating with the sand trap, a vertically movable valve, the lower end of said valve adapted to cooperate with a valve seat said valve when in one position` permitting communication between the conduit and the sandV tra and when in another position shutting o communication between the conduit and the sand trap and opening communication between the conduit and the wellV above the sand trap.

2. In an apparatus of the character described a core barrel, a conduit communicating with said core barrel, a vertically movable valve carried by the conduit, said valve adapted to be moved vertically to seated position to sluit off communication between the conduit and the core barrel and simultaneously open direct communication between the conduit and the well.

3. In an apparatus of the character described a core barrel, a conduit communieating with the core barrel, said conduit being provided with ports, a vertically movable valve provided with ports, said valve ports and conduit ports adapted to be aligned, the alignment of said ports being effected by the movement of the conduit.

4. In an apparatus of the character described a core barrel, a conduit communieating with the core barrel, said conduit ben ine provided with orts, a vertically movab e valve providedP with ports, and means to align the valve ports and conduit ports, the vertical movement of said valve being controlled by the rotation of the conduit.

5. In an apparatus of the character described a core barrel, a conduit communicating therewith, said conduit being provided with ports, a vertically movable valve. said valve in one position in its vertical path closing said ports and permitting communication between the conduit and the core bar,- rel, and in another position opening said ports and shutting off communication between the conduit and the core barrel, the

movement of said valve being effected by the movement of the conduit.

6. In an apparatus of the character described a core barrel1 a conduit communieating with the core barrel, said conduit provided with ports, a valve member, said valve member having p orts in the side walls thereof and a valve at its lower end, and means for moving the valve member to cause the valve to shut oil' communication between the conduit and core barrel and to simultaneously align the conduit ports and the valve member ports.

7. In an apparatus of the character described a core barrel, a conduit associated with the tubular member, a tubular member i attached to the core barrel, said tubular member provided with a valve seat adjacent its upper end, and a valve cooperating with said valve seat,'said valve when seated shutting olf communication between the conduit and the core barrel and o ening communication directly with the we l above said core barrel. n

8. A core barrel, a tubular member attached to the core barrel, said tubular member provided with a valve seat adjacent its upper end, a valve cooperating with the valve seat, and a drill stem for raising and lowering said valve.

9. In an a paratus of' the character described includmg a core barrel, a tubular lll member attached to the core barrel, said tubular member having a valve seat at its upper end, a conduit attached to the tubular member and provided with ports, a valve cooperating with the valve seat, the Side walls of Said valve provided with ports, and means to close said valve and to Simultaneously align the valve ports and the conduit ports.

ll). In an apparatus of the character described a valve body, a drill member carried by and normally communicating with "the interior of the valve body, a valve in said valve body, said valve adapted to be lowered into Seated position to shut off communication between the valve body and the drill member by the movement of the valve body.

l1. A valve body provided with ports, a valve provided with ports and mounted for vertical movement in said valve body, a core barrel mounted below the valve body, and means whereby the valve is moved vertically to bring the valve ports and the valve body ports into aligned position by rotation of the valve body.

12. A valve body, a core barrel arranged below the valve body and normally com-l municating therewith, a vertically movable valve to control communication between the valve body and the core barrel, the movement of said valve Simultaneously controlling communication between the valve body and the well above the core barrel, the ver tical position of the valve being' controlled by the operation of the valve body.

13. A valve body, a core barrel mounted below the valve body, and a vertically movable valve arranged in said body and adapted to simultaneouslyshut olf Communication between the valve body and the core barrel and open communication between the valve body and the Well above the core barrel, the position of the valve being controlled by the operation of the valve body.

CHARLES. H. BENCKENSTEIN. 

